It’s week 34! Wow! This all still seems so surreal to me. Every now and then I am caught off guard as I see my reflection in the mirror and realize – holy smokes, I’m pregnant! Pretty cool stuff.

The little guy has stopped doing flip turns and is back to a regular regimen of Tae Bo, yoga, and hiccupping. He is approximately the size of a pineapple. What is most amazing to me is that at a around 4.75 pounds, he is bigger than I was when I was born. Wow!

Babies are considered full term at 37 weeks so we’ve got another 3 weeks to go. The due date is at 40 weeks, which is only 6 weeks away. I’m excited! I can’t wait to see him move those limbs and bounce around in person.

I will now proceed to interview myself. 🙂

So, what’s new?

Well, nothing much. My 34-week OB visit was uneventful. It is such a blessing. After everything I went through, I am especially appreciative of how smoothly the pregnancy is going.

My weight has not really increased over the past couple of weeks. (I’m still about 27 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight.) I’m not sure why, but I have some theories. It may be because I was a bit more bloated before and some of that has gone away recently. Also, I have been feeling better (thank you Priolsec!) so I’ve been eating a lot more fruit/veggies and fewer starchy carbs.

How’s the heartburn?

So much better! My system still isn’t normal, but I realized yesterday that it had been a couple of days since I popped Tums as a matter of routine. That is great! I have a lot of reflux but I can handle it for 6 more weeks.

Am I sleeping?

Actually, yes. It might be thanks to the Benadryl, but I am getting pretty decent sleep. Knock on wood.

How about names?

We’ve got it narrowed down to two names. We would both be happy with either name. I don’t know if we will pick one or just wait until he is born.

Are we ready?

Well, no. But I’m not really stressing about it. The nursery is painted. It is so pretty. A nice turquoise blue with white trim. My sister is going to decorate it. She said something about monkeys…

We need to install the car seat. Apparently that is something that most people screw up and so it is recommended that you have it done or checked by a professional. It used to be that this was performed at fire stations but now you are supposed to schedule an appointment at certain local police departments. (You can find a location here.) We’ll get to that soon.

I know it is early, but I want to get my hospital bag packed and ready to go. Once it is done, I won’t have to worry about it. Right?

Final thoughts?

I am starting to realize that I need to get ready to transition all of my work stuff. I decided that at the end of my maternity leave I am going to return to my old job with chief counsel. So that means I pretty much need to pack up my entire office before I leave for maternity leave – whenever that is. Oh, and transitioning all of my duties to others is much easier said than done.

I’m so excited! I could barely wait to share these final photos. I think you’ll agree that the Weight Challenge was a big success. I certainly held up my end of the challenge (that part was pretty easy) and I definitely have to say that Joe did a stellar job for his part.

Let’s take a look back:

Week 1 (back in January)

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

and now:

Look at the difference:

Way to go, Joe!

Special thanks to our official photographer, Janene! And of course, to Joe for being an awesome sport and for taking on this challenge. Way to go, my friend!

Final wrap up:

Cat

Weight gained: 27 lbs (as of pregnancy week 33)

Feeling: Huge, but good

Most noticeable difference: I can’t squeeze between the ellipticals at the gym anymore.

Best advice: Pay attention to getting good nutrition but also allow yourself to splurge a little.

Joe

Weight lost: Around 20 lbs

Feeling: Much better than before. “Not only have I lost weight, but I’ve also reapportioned weight (moved from gut to chest, etc.) Lean muscle has increased.”

Additional thoughts: The weight loss had a positive impact on his posture.

Please post any comments you’d like me to send to Joe and I’ll forward them to him.

Lucky Thumper has a new name. As of last night I am calling him Lucky Flipper.

Holy cow!

I was sitting in a meeting yesterday when I felt an entirely new sensation in my belly. Instead of the usual jab or roll in one part of my belly, this time I felt it EVERYWHERE. Well, all over my belly. It was like he did a somersault. The movement was so significant that it startled me. My boss said she saw him moving. It was so cool!

And then he kept flipping around.

All. Day. Long. And it was gradually getting a little less cool.

He was having a really good time with his new-found skill and it was starting to wear me out. I found myself wondering if there is a way to sedate babies in the womb. If sugar makes him move, what could I eat (or drink??) to get him to chill out a little bit.

If I walked or exercised he would calm down. It’s the same idea as driving the baby around in the car. The movement and motion are calming. But that doesn’t result in any rest for me – aka the driver. The second I sit or lay down I swear he’s back to practicing his flip turns. When the Knight got home he got to witness the excitement for himself.

It’s a bit better today. Don’t get me wrong. I think it is so cool that he is so active and strong, but oh my gosh! What am I in for with this one?

The Knight (whose given name is William) has told stories of how his mother would shout at him from downstairs, “Bill, be still!” because as a boy his was always moving, tapping, or jumping around. I wish she were around so we could commiserate.

My friend EB told me that the activity should calm down soon because as he gets bigger he won’t be able to move around as much. We’ll see.

[Note: This post has no pictures. Do yourself a favor and don’t search Google Images for “flipper baby.” Just trust me.]

The little guy is around 3.75 pounds and 16.7 inches long. He’ll gain about a third to half of his birth weight in the next 7 weeks.

I’m big. Like really big. Cool beans!

And a little self-portrait from when I was stretching at the gym the other day:

The Latest

I had my OB appointment today. Everything’s great. No cause for concern at all, which makes me really grateful. Yeah, I’ve got some annoying pregnancy symptoms. I’ll survive. The Ironman/marathon training analogies come to mind a lot. I’m in the final stretch now.

My swelling comes and goes and I think it is downright FREAKY. Sometimes I don’t recognize myself. I really can’t believe how huge my feet and ankles can become.

How I’m Feeling?

Feeling good overall. The heartburn is my biggest issue. My nurse-midwife suggested I try Prilosec. The Zantac pretty much stopped helping after a few days and I am getting really close to not being able to tolerate Tums anymore.

Frankly, I never understood when I would hear stories about people going to the hospital thinking they were having a heart attack but it turned out to be heartburn. I think I’ve really only seen these stories on TV, but, you know…

Well, now I understand. Sometimes it feels like my chest is being crushed and sometimes it feels like my heart is malfunctioning. I don’t know how else to describe it.

Where are we on naming our little bundle of joy?

We are down to a list of three first names. You may remember that the last time I mentioned this we had a list of four names. Yeah, well, the two lists only have one name in common. Hahaha.

Every so often the Knight asks, “If he was born today, which name would you choose?” The one name that is common to both lists is usually what I choose and he agrees. Still, we haven’t committed to it. I think we’re enjoying the process.

Anything else?

Lucky Thumper is an active little guy, which I am attributing to his paternal genes. Some days it feels like he is constantly moving. The other day it felt like we were playing a little game and I think I moved his limb with my hand. Way cool! You can actually see the movement in my belly.

Last night I dreamed about his birth, but surprise – he was a SHE. So funny. I know these things can happen, but the sonographer was pretty certain that she saw “a little boy part.”

I guess that’s better than the dream last week where he was an elephant, and the doctors had to pin his ears to the table in order to vaccinate him. Ha! I’d like to say that the wacky dreams are a pregnancy thing, but I’ve always had bizarre dreams.

So, that’s the update. Life is good! I can’t believe how quickly time is passing.